You Pay; We Play

It is widely accepted that raising taxes in a souring economy is bad economic policy.  Well, in Vermont, we have a souring economy where young people have a tough time finding a job that matches their qualifications and the state is facing revenue shortfalls and businesses are closing down or leaving the state.

But, still, the tax juggernaut rolls on.  Act 60/68 recognizes no economic realities.  It is economic reality. 

Meanwhile, that branch of government that made Act 60/68 (or something like it) inevitable, has declared itself above all this petty financial squabbling and horse trading.  Without the Vermont Supreme Court's arrogantly and illogically argued Brigham decision, the state would probably not be spending more than 50% of all tax revenues (state and local) on K-12 education with no evident way of restraining further growth.  So we keep cutting back and paying up.

Everyone, that is, except the Supreme Court which has told the state to go spit in its hat.  They ain't paying.  They are too important and besides ... well, they are too important.  Case closed.

Time, perhaps, to revisit Brigham and to talk of judicial overreach.

Comments

[G. Cross]

"..... the state would probably not be spending more than 50% of all tax revenues (state and local) on K-12 education with no evident way of restraining further growth." Wrong!!

It is easy to contol education spending. All you have to do is convince your fellow voters to defeat school budgets until they reach the point you find favorable. What is it you find so difficult about this democratic process?

[Brattleboro_conservative]

George, the problem is that the voters all believe the Democrats (or progressives) and WON'T vote down school budgets. They're Sheeple remember? A lot of folks have been fed a lot of propaganda by the left in this state for 20 years and that's very hard to reverse.

[GreggB]

We have towns paying for school budgets they didn't vote for, and towns voting for school budgets they won't have to pay for. Voting against my local school budget doesn't change anything.

[G. Cross]

So the general public is stupid and the posters on this site have all the answers? I don't think so! One more time, if you want to change things, stand for office and let the people decide if your ideas are the ones they want. It is really not that difficult, if you have "generally acceptable ideas."

[Peter Joes]

"Everyone, that is, except the Supreme Court"

Well, not exactly everyone. The list of things not cut was in the article cited. It didn't happen to include the two jobs I just saw ads for - - two positions with the tax department to, among other things, provide liaison with lawmakers.

Hmmm.

PJ

[Poor George]

George:

The problem, as you well know, is that the people who live in large urban areas are the biggest beneficiaries of Act 60. Why on earth would they vote for someone who would seek to change a system that puts money in their pockets?

Meanwhile, the rural towns get screwed, while the superintendents tell the receiving towns to keep voting for bigger and bigger school budgets, because "they won't have to pay."

Sure, go plead the democracy line. I might remind you that it was a Democratic majority (pun intended) that voted in Jim Crow laws.

[Greg Decker]

"The successful politician owes his power to the fact that he moves within the accepted framework of thought, that he thinks and talks conventionally. It would be almost a contradiction in terms for a politician to be a leader in the field of ideas. His task in a democracy is to find out what the opinions held by the largest number are, not to give currency to new opinions which may become the majority view in some distant future."

~From F.A. Hayek

[G. Cross]

I always thought PC stood for "political correct" only to find out that it is really for "Poor George." Cute.

The problem with PC's analysis is that it does not follow facts. The "large urban areas" still spend less per pupil than the suburbs and the more affluent rural areas. Plus, there are more defeats of school budgets in the older urban areas than in any other group of school districts. Thus, the conventional wisdom set forth by PC is more conventional than wisdom.